The killing of a Los Angeles County sheriff’s sergeant by 27-year-old Trenton Trevon Lovell is being described as a “calculated execution” by investigators. 

On Wednesday afternoon, Sergeant Steven Owen, 53, encountered Lovell after responding to a burglary call in the city of Lancaster, just north of Los Angeles. In pursuit of the suspect, Owen went behind the apartment building and was shot by Lovell who was in possession of a stolen gun. He then stood over the wounded officer and fired another four rounds. 

Lovell attempted to steal a patrol car but rammed it into another cruiser. He was shot in the shoulder as he fled on foot to a nearby home occupied by two teenagers. The SWAT team descended on the property and rescued the hostages who kept in contact with sheriff’s officers via text. Lovell was captured before he escaped over a wall.

Lovell, a parolee who has a long rap sheet including dozens of arrests and two state prison sentences, was taken into custody and remains in jail without bail, according to The Daily Mail.

Sgt. Owen was a 29-year veteran and was awarded a Meritorious Conduct Medal in 2014 for his efforts in capturing a gunman who was using a hostage as a human shield.